He is a sneaky looking some one. I would think that the pic of him holdng that child would hang him, but I do not have much faith in our justice system anymore.I saw a little short on TV last night. They were talking to O.J. He is still the same smirking person he ever was. He didn't look a bit unhappy.I won't even mention the other case that I am thinking about.

The murder trial for the man who allegedly bought, raped and killed 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009 is scheduled for Feb. 18.

Mario Andrette McNeill will go on trial more than three years after Shaniya's death. The girl's mother also faces charges; her trial is scheduled for Feb. 18, too, but only one of the cases will go forward then, said Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West.

It hasn't been determined which trial will start first nor whether they will be conducted back-to-back.

In a region where murders are a recurring news story, few keep track of them. We note the murder itself, the capture (we hope) of the accused killer, and then the murder trial.

We would note the executions, too, if we had them anymore. But most convicted murderers simply live out their lives in a continuous loop of legal appeals.

We doubt anyone's forgotten about this one, though. Most people would instantly recognize the sweet, smiling face of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis, who was killed in 2009 in a way that shocked even the most numbed news consumers - and the hardest-shelled detectives as well.

McNeill, 32, is scheduled to stand trial April 8 in Cumberland County Superior Court. He faces the death penalty if convicted of the November 2009 killing.

He claims innocence in two letters postmarked Feb. 15 and addressed from the Cumberland County Detention Center. The Observer received the letters Wednesday.

In one, McNeill writes: "I did not take or kidnap Shaniya Davis. I did not purchase, buy, trade, sell or exchange Shaniya Davis. I did not molest, sexually assault, rape or ravish Shaniya Davis. I did not kill, murder, or take Shaniya Davis's life, nor did I have any prior or beforehand knowledge as to what was to and/or did occur."

Searcher recalls day that he helped find body of missing 5-year-old Fayetteville girl

By MARTHA WAGGONER Associated PressApril 06, 2013 - 12:55 pm EDT

RALEIGH, North Carolina — Jeff Riccio will always remember the moment when a group of police officers he was training found the body of a 5-year-old girl among deer carcasses in a ravine off a rural highway.

The dog instructor was training canine police officers from the U.S. Virgin Islands when one found Shaniya Davis, a Fayetteville girl who had been missing for almost a week.

"I'll never forget it," said Riccio, 29, who now owns his own dog training business in Middleborough, Massachusetts "I'll never forget that day. I'll never forget those moments. They're definitely ingrained in me forever. I'll never forget it. Ever."

McNeill, 32, will face a jury that could sentence him to death. Charges against him include first-degree murder, child rape, kidnapping, child abuse, human trafficking and sexual exploitation of a child.

Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West anticipates the entire trial to last about six to eight weeks.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/page/6459688/WRAL - Raleigh, NC Current as of 4/8/13

WRAL.com archive: Shaniya Davis case

Shaniya Nicole DavisFive-year-old Shaniya Nicole Davis was reported missing from her Fayetteville home by her mother on Nov. 10, 2009. Volunteer searchers found her body six days later in the woods off N.C. Highway 87 near the Lee-Harnett county line.

No jurors had been seated in the Shaniya Davis murder trial by lunch break today.

The judge said he expects the lawyers to agree on at least a few jurors by the end of the day in the trial of Mario McNeill, but court officials have said jury selection could take up to two weeks.

Snipped:

During the morning session, 16 prospective jurors from the original pool of 97 had been dismissed for various reasons, including medical conditions, a scheduled surgery and status as an enrolled student.

The remaining 81 prospective jurors were then divided into seven panels. Those on three panels were asked to return to the jury room after lunch at 2:30 p.m., while the four other panels were excused for the day but must call back for further instructions after 5 p.m.

Judge James F. Ammons Jr. said he hoped jury selection would be finished by the end of the week, but he said the process could continue into next week. Ammons, prosecutors and McNeill's defense attorneys agreed they would seat at least 3 alternates to the 12-person jury.

Snipped:

Before the jury selection process started Monday morning, the judge and attorney discussed several logistics of the trial. They agreed the trial would be scheduled for Monday through Thursday each week, allowing a day for the attorneys to work at their offices on Fridays. The trial is expected to last several weeks.

Per this article, there may not be a trial. Mario McNeill has until tomorrow (Tuesday, 4-9-13) morning to decide if he will enter a guilty plea. If he enters a guilty plea, he will be sentenced to "life without parole."

Mario Andretti McNeill walks into a Fayetteville courtroom on April 8, 2013, as jury selection begins in his death-penalty trial. McNeill is charged with raping and killing 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in November 2009.

Fayetteville, N.C. — As jury selection began Monday in the capital murder case of the man accused of raping and killing a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl more than three years ago, prosecutors offered a plea deal to end what is expected to be a two-month trial.

Snipped:

Prosecutors said they wouldn't seek the death penalty against McNeill if he pleads guilty. The defense has until Tuesday to accept or reject the deal.

The deal came after Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons denied a request from defense attorneys that the case proceed as a non-capital trial.

Public defenders Harold "Butch" Pope and Terry Alford argued that McNeill's previous lawyer allowed him to make statements that helped investigators find Shaniya's body under an agreement that the death penalty wouldn't be pursued in the case.

As jury selection began Monday in the capital murder case of the man accused of raping and killing a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl more than three years ago, prosecutors offered a plea deal to end what is expected to be a two-month trial.

The ins and out of jury duty, a few rules and a big learning curve in the law and legal terms.

By Kelly TwedellFort Bragg - PatchFort Bragg, NC

April 8, 2013

Mario McNeill faces trial by jury on seven charges that include first-degree murder, first-degree rape of a child, first-degree kidnapping, human trafficking with a child victim, sexual servitude with a child victim, sexual offense of a child and indecent liberties with a child.

The ethnic breakdown and sex of the 87 juror candidates appeared to consist of: 20 white males, 18 black males, four males of other ethnic backgrounds, 25 white females, 19 black females, and one other female of a different race.

Shaniya's father, Bradley Lockhart, sits in the courtroom. At left are Tiera Allen and Cheyenne Lockhart.

By Michael FutchStaff writer

Mario McNeill has until today to decide whether to plead guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court to the rape and murder of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009.

McNeill, 32, is facing the death penalty.

If he pleads guilty, McNeill will avoid a trial and the risk that a jury could sentence him to death, and prosecutors say they would go straight to sentencing, which would mean a life sentence without parole for McNeill.

The trial is scheduled to resume today at 9:30 a.m.

Read more:

http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2013/04/08/1248550?sac=fo.local

Staff photo by Raul R. RubieraMario McNeill enters Cumberland County Superior Court on Monday, the first day of his murder trial in the death of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis. ~~~~~

Staff photo by Raul R. RubieraDefense lawyers Terry Alford, left, and Butch Pope talk to their client, Mario McNeill, on Monday, the first day of jury selection for his trial on charges in the rape and murder of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009.

By Michael FutchStaff writer

Mario McNeill has until today to decide whether to plead guilty in Cumberland County Superior Court to the rape and murder of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009.

McNeill, 32, is facing the death penalty.

If he pleads guilty, McNeill will avoid a trial and the risk that a jury could sentence him to death, and prosecutors say they would go straight to sentencing, which would mean a life sentence without parole for McNeill.

Mario Andretti McNeill maintained his innocence Tuesday and rejected a plea deal in the capital murder case of a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl. Prosecutors say McNeill raped, kidnapped and murdered Shaniya Davis in 2009. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Mario McNeill this morning rejected an offer to plead guilty to the murder and rape of 5-year-old Shaniya Davis and instead will take a chance that a jury will convict him and sentence him to death for the 2009 crime.

If he had taken the deal, McNeill, who maintains his innocence, would have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The decision was announced around 9:30 a.m. today. Afterward, potential jurors returned to the courtroom for resumption of jury selection.

Fayetteville, N.C. — A man accused of raping and killing a 5-year-old Fayetteville girl in 2009 rejected a plea deal Tuesday and said he wants to proceed with a trial, which could send him to death row if convicted.

Prosecutors said they wouldn't seek the death penalty against Mario Andretti McNeill, 32, if he pleaded guilty. However, he maintained his innocence at Tuesday's hearing and said he did not kill Shaniya Davis, whose body was found in a kudzu patch off N.C. Highway 87 near the Lee-Harnett county line on Nov. 16, 2009.

The judge had given McNeill an opportunity on Monday, in the trial's first day, to strike a plea of guilt in exchange for a life sentence without parole.

Tuesday, McNeill was calm.

He was collected.

He was composed and appeared relaxed as Pope told the judge there will be no deals or bargaining in the capital murder case.

Snipped:

Billy West, the district attorney, has described Shaniya Davis' death as "especially heinous, atrocious and cruel."

Snipped:

"This is a case of a rape and/or sex offense against a 5-year-old victim who was helpless to prevent her asphyxiation," West said in October 2011. "Her body was left in a ditch after she was asphyxiated, and this was done, allegedly, by someone she knew and perhaps even trusted."

Juror candidates are interrogated in the jury box through the remainder of the week.

By Kelly TwedellFort Bragg - PatchFort Bragg, NC

Tuesday morning inside Cumberland County's courtroom 4A, Mario McNeill maintained his innocent plea, turning down a life sentence offered to him on Monday by proscutors.

After his lawyer "Butch" Pope spoke on his behalf, it was determined that the case would proceed to a jury trial, which could end in a death sentence if McNeill is convicted on charges of raping and killing 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in 2009.

Human trafficking is a buzz word in our community. Fayetteville's ongoing trial of Mario A. McNeill, accused of raping and killing 5-year-old Shaniya Davis in November 2009, includes a charge of human trafficking.

Read more about the issue of human trafficking and what is being done to aid victims of this crime that often flies under the radar due to its dark nature:

This is an update regarding cameras in the court room when testimony starts in the Mario McNeill capital murder trial.

The following is a snip from an e-mail I have received in response to an inquiry I made with WRAL - Raleigh, NC.

WRAL is the TV station in Raleigh, NC that "live streamed" the Jason Young trial and the coverage was exceptional.

Snipped from personal e-mail (no link will be provided):

The judge is allowing cameras in the courtroom but not streaming video coverage. So, we will have video roundups of testimony nightly, as well as extended coverage online that goes beyond what we can cover on TV.

Two jurors were seated Friday morning, while another was excused for military obligations.

An Army captain who had been seated Thursday was dismissed. He said he learned that morning his two-week training assignment had been moved up on the calendar and would interfere with his jury service. Superior Court Judge Jim Ammons said part of his thinking to excuse the soldier included the fact that the trial "had not started evidence."